NCCU cooperates with outside agencies in the enforcement of copyright infringement laws; infringement on campus typically involves the distribution and receipt of copyright protected audio and video recordings covered by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Increasingly, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is scanning for and prosecuting violators. Penalties for illegally downloading music or other copyright protected materials include a maximum of 3 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

Though music sharing is currently the highest profile example of copyright infringement, sharing any copyright protected content without consent is illegal and includes images, data, text, software and film/video. As a good rule of thumb, avoid trading copyright protected music, movies, games and software over the Internet using file-sharing programs such as KaZaa or Morpheus. While it is perfectly legal to use these programs, letting other user access and upload copyright protected files your computer is illegal. If you have questions about sharing and downloading files online, call the Eagles Technical Assistance Center at x7676 (off-campus 530-7676).

For more information about downloading music and campus policies, click the links below:

1 Options for Getting Music Legally Online

2 Legal Sources for Downloading Music from musicunited.org

3 Illegal Download Penalties at NCCU

4 Music Download News